Tears of SorrowIn Defence of Their Country
by ScribeAnimal
Summary: Harm/Mac, Animal/Meg: Harm and Animal go down over the Atlantic while doing a ferry flight for an F-14 Tomcat. What Mac and Meg don't know ends up becoming trouble for Clayton Webb. Written in 1999
1. Chapter 1

Pt 1 - "Tears of Sorrow"/Part 2 - "In Defence Of Their Country"

Author: Hugo Chikamori

Rating: PG-13

Classification: Characters death...

Spoilers: None, except whatever comes out of Animal's demented mind... Meg is married to Animal. I don't give a hoot how many flames that will get me. TOUGH. This will probably not fit into the continuity of the story-lines of my other stories

Summary: A Tomcat crash in the Ocean claims the lives of two characters

Disclaimers: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Sarah Mackenzie, AJ Chegwidden, Meg Austin, et al. belong in concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended, yadda yadda yadda...(Anyone wanna help out with the disclaimer?)

NAS Oceana Radar Room,

1945 ZULU

"Lieutenant Millen," Lieutenant Commander Phil " Metalman" Burrows asked, "Have you heard any transmissions from Fast Eagle 101?"

"None, sir...the F-14 dropped off the radar screen without any prior indication of problems."

"Damn, SECNAV is going to be on my ass like a rabid dog." Was Metalman's acerbic comment as he looked at the blank radar screen. "How soon till we call out the search team?"

"Far too long, sir...I think they've gone down somewhere."

"Damn it..."

JAG Headquarters

2100 ZULU

The phone rang in the JAG office, as Mac picked up the phone when she heard it ring. She had known that Harm was going up with Animal, that day for a ferry trip that was to take an F-14A Tomcat to a squadron on board a carrier in the North Atlantic in return for a F-14A+, a GE re-engined aircraft waiting to be brought in for SLEP (Service Life Extension Program). "Major Mackenzie here..." she replied.

Lieutenant Commander Phil Burrows' voice on the other end of the line caused her to become worried. "Mac, I have some bad news for you."

"What's wrong? Metalman?" inquired Mac, who was now worried. 'What could have gone wrong?'

Her fears were realized when Metalman replied somberly," We don't know for sure, but we lost contact with the ferry flight somewhere over the North Atlantic. They were out of Oceana about two hours when the tracking system saw them go off the screen and disappear. We think they may have gone down somewhere between the Newfoundland coast and Greenland." Mac's heart nearly stopped. Harm had gone back to flying, changing his designator. Operational flying was the lifeblood of a naval aviator, and as such, Harm was no different. He was not happy unless he had a stick and throttle in his hands.

"Are you absolutely sure? Metalman?" she asked.

"The USS Theodore Roosevelt has its aircraft combing the area for signs of the wreckage, but it may have just impacted and gone right to the bottom. They should have been onboard by now if they were on schedule." Metalman said.

"What are the chances of surviving such a crash?" Mac asked. She feared that Harm and Animal were dead, but her heart did not want to accept that fear as absolute reality. She knew the answer but wanted to hear it from another person rather than from the machinations of her own mind.

"Slim to none." Metalman said with absolute finality, "Especially since this is winter-time, the chances aren't good at all."

MEG & ANIMAL'S HOME

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA

2145 ZULU

Meg had really had a rough day. It wasn't fun having to chase after her son on the only day that she had off in the past six months from investigations at the NCIS. Sure she had the week-ends, but this wasn't as much fun as being home on a weekday when all the shops were open and her compatriots were stuck at work. Happily married for four years, Meg had enjoyed her work at the N.I.S. which had investigated criminal incidents within the framework of the Navy as well as the operational accidents. She had lost track of how many Naval Aviation accidents that she had covered. With her husband being a naval aviator, she was now more closely attuned with what the spouse of a naval aviator went through everytime, their husbands put on flight gear and headed up in their jet aircraft. Her deepest fear was that one day she might be asked to investigate a fatal crash involving her husband. Seeing the devastation on the widows' faces which she had consoled during her NIS investigations, had really struck her. Would she be as strong as they tried to be?; which never really was enough.

The mandatory visitations after an accident were really hard to take. Many wives had indicated that they had nightmares where they saw the customary Navy black Ford sedan pull up to their driveway and two Naval officers getting out of the vehicle. They tried to think that it would never happen to them. They tried to think that their husbands were invincible, that nothing would get past them and their iron steeds of the air.

That was her secret fear too, that one of these days, she would receive a visitation from the two messengers of disaster. While her mind was dwelling on those morbid thoughts as she was trying to make supper, the doorbell rang. Her first thought was 'that's strange. He said that he wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon.' Matt, their two year old son, had come to the top of the stairs as his mother came out f the kitchen. Meg looked curiously at the door. "Matt, stay there." Meg cautioned her son. "I wonder who that could be?" Meg said aloud as she opened the door.

Two service blues clad naval officers, both equivalent in rank to her husband (who was a 3-striper commander), stood in front of her doorstep. Lieutenant Meg Austin?"

"Yes?" She said quizzically.

"You're Mrs. Nakamura?"

"Yes?"

"Mrs. Nakamura, we regret to inform you..." That was all Meg heard before an anguished cry that she barely recognized as her own, erupted from her throat. The officer stepped forward to prevent her from hitting the floor as she collapsed forward. Her anguished sobs, mingled with her son's screams of fright at seeing his mother collapse, filled the air as she buried her face in the tall officer's service dress blues. The two officers guided her to her own living room, but Meg's subconscious barely registered it. Her husband, the one person in her life that she had made a life with, was dead.

Meg seeing the anguish in her son's eyes, had to make an effort to put aside her own grief to console a son who had now lost a father.

Meg lifted her eyes to look around at the momentos lining their home. Four years of married life had accumulated a lot of memories. Pictures of Animal in his flight-suit, of them standing together at the beach. Of them together as a family for the first time at the birth of their son, Matt. Her eyes filled again as she thought of how much she wanted a large family. Animal had shared that wish, as he had been an only child and did not want to subject his sons and daughters to the same loneliness that he had felt while growing up. Their hopes, their dreams, all for the taking were now dashed to pieces at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in the wreckage of an F-14. Meg enfolded her arms around her son, the one little piece of Animal that she had left to hold on to; giving in to her grief.

Little Matt cried too, not really understanding why his mother was grieving but out of fear of whoever had made his mommy sad.

Meg whispered... "I love you...little Matt...you're the big man of the house now." Matt nodded still uncomprehending.

OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL ASST. TO UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE

2145 ZULU

"There's no word on the Tomcat which Lieutenant Commander Rabb and Commander Nakamura were flying." Clayton Webb said as he talked to the CAG of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. "Not even a blip on the screen indicating why they ended up going in. Damn, the President is not going to like this one. We've lost two decorated naval officers in the same fell swoop." Webb said,"The Congressional Medal of Honor Society is asking why the Commander wasn't taken off operational status when he was awarded the Medal of Honor."

The CAG snorted,"You wanna be the one telling the Commander that he's being taken off duty?"

"Has there been any sign that the crash was fatal?"

"Other than the fact that the aircraft has gone off the radar screen?" The CAG asked sarcastically. "If I were you, I'd start notifying Tom Boone that Hammer's son and Animal are missing and presumed dead. Other than that. We haven't found any wreckage to signify that yet."

"What is the chance of their possibly being found among the wreckage? We need some bodies to show for our search efforts if the worst has happened. These families need some closure." Clay replied to the CAG.

"We're doing the best we can under the circumstances." The CAG said, sounding annoyed. "If the State Department can do something about the fact that the aircraft went down in international waters and get permission from the UN that we can mount a military forensics operation to find out what recovery procedures we can institute under the auspices of the United Nations, and do it quick...then we might be able to recover their bodies before the predators get to them." The CAG snorted, "Otherwise, we're just pissing in the wind."

JAG HEADQUARTERS

2200 ZULU

Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden mentioned to Mac that she should head for home, but Mac was not in the mood to go home to rest. Harm was gone, as far as she knew. Metalman had dashed any hopes of that, since she had heard nothing from him in the past hour since

his last call.

"No, sir, I'm just going to get a few more files done for the case tomorrow." Mac heard herself saying.

"Well, Major, don't work too hard. Take some time to recoup." The Admiral stated firmly. "If necessary, I'll approve a request for leave-time."

"Thank you sir, but that won't be necessary." Mac said.

USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71)

2120 ZULU (Iceland/Greenland Time)

FALCON 145 - S-3 Viking

"Hey, do you see what I see in the water?" the pilot asked as he looked over at the bobbing bodies in the midst of the oil slick.

"Shit, it looks like the F-14." The co-pilot stated as he looked over at the wreckage.

"Damn...the wreckage sank to the bottom, but the pilots managed to eject."

"We're gonna have to find out what happened. Radio and see if they can get the helo out here and pull these bodies in."

MAC'S APARTMENT

GEORGETOWN, VA

2245 ZULU

"Mac," the voice on the phone was startlingly similar to Harm's, enough so that Mac answered it with "HARM?"

"No, Mac, it's Metalman."

"What happened...have they found them yet? What's going on?" Mac blurted out.

"No...I have some really bad news..." Metalman said. "They found the bodies." Mac dropped into the couch, her eyes blurring with tears.

"No..." Mac repeated... "No...it can't be..."

"I'm sorry, Mac..." Metalman was struggling to keep himself composed too. Animal and Metalman had gone to flight-school together and were the closest of friends. They had been through several wars together, the Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo. Now his best friend was dead.

"What did they say happened." She asked...trying to see the sunset out of her apartment window, through her blurring eyes filled with tears.

"They haven't recovered the wreckage yet." Metalman said. "Once we have the black-box, we'll know."

"So what is going to happen to the bodies?" Mac asked emotionlessly...her entire system going into shock. "Have you heard from Clay?"

"Nope...but as far as I know is that they will get a military burial at Arlington." Metalman replied. "I wanted to get in on the search for the wreckage, but they told me 'no', that I was too emotionally attached to the deceased to warrant risking another pilot. Decorated pilot is what they called it..." his tone was bitterly sarcastic. "I couldn't even go and search for my best friend. Damn them."

Mac nodded quietly. She let him go and hung up the phone. Sinking back into her couch, she wept for the man that she loved...and for their friend, lost in the prime of their careers.

A WEEK LATER

1700 ZULU

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY

"Commander Toshio Nakamura, United States Navy, was the consummate naval officer, and expert navy aviator. He strived for perfection and as the top U.S. Ace, in any service, he managed to achieve a record of kills in jet aircraft unequalled by any other airman. As a naval officer in the 2nd Korean conflict, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor while on a ground assignment for conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty at the risk of his own life. But beyond his accomplishments, beyond his heroics, beyond the Navy itself, he was a friend." Metalman said as he stood at the podium. "I spent many years with him, as friends, from the time we were young through our careers. Before his death, he told me that our duty was to our country no matter what. He sacrificed his life for his country. He will not see Matt grow up, play his first football game, graduate from high school, go to the NavalAcademy, become an officer, get married. My friend will never ever see these things, but I still believe that no matter what the cost, he gave his life, because he loved his country. Animal, buddy, I will miss you. God rest, Godspeed."

Meg sat in front of Animal's casket, the image of a widow, clear-eyed, yet her face was lined with pain and barely restrained grief. Holding her hand was her son, Matthew. What their future would hold was unforseen. Meg knew that she had to keep going for the sake of her son. She listened to Metalman speak, barely holding in her sorrow. Matt looked up at her, his eyes looking older than his 2 years. He seemed to know that Daddy wasn't coming home ever again.

The caskets were lined up and both were covered with the United States Ceremonial Flag, as befitting the caskets of two warriors.

Mac listened as Captain Thomas Boone spoke about Harm's exploits in JAG, as well as back in the fleet. She looked over at Trish and Frank Burnett who were trying hard not to break down. Mac's own heart was breaking seeing Harm's casket on the bier in front of them.

"ATTEN-HUT!" the honor guard unsheathed their rifles and brought them up to a 45 degree angle, as the CAG finished his speech. "PRESENT ARMS!"

The rifleshots, though blanks, caused both Mac and Meg to start. The rifle salute echoed through the tree-grove in Arlington Cemetary. And a shallow whine was heard. They saw two flights of F-14s pass low overhead. The first comprised of VF-41 Black Aces aircraft paying their final respects to their commanding officer. The slot aircraft in the diamond formation pulled up into a vertical climb to complete the 'missing man' formation.

The second formation consisted of VF-193 'Howler' squadron aircraft. Repeating the same maneuver, the Howler squadron paid their respect to one of their own.

A MONTH LATER

MEG and her mother.

"Meg, you have to move on. You can't dwell on his death like this." Her mother said.

"I'm not sure that he's dead..." Meg said.

"You went to his funeral, you saw him buried, and you're telling me that he's not dead? Meg...Please...stop doing this to yourself. Think about Matt. He needs another father-figure."

"Damn it, mother. It was just too antiseptic of a process. The caskets weren't even open. It was a closed casket funeral. How can I even bury my husband or bury my feelings when I never even saw him for the last time?" Meg snapped infuriated. "The Navy never even let me say goodbye to the man I loved. If he were truly dead, I would know...but my heart says that he's alive!"

JAG HQ

FALLS CHURCH, VA

Mac somberly handed her commanding officer a sheet of paper.

"Major...Are you sure, you know exactly what you're doing?" Rear Admiral Chegwidden asked her.

"Yes, sir..." Mac said. She knew that this would probably kill her career right then and there. "I don't believe that Harm and Animal are dead. With your permission, I want to search for them."

"Major, let's face the facts, they were found in the water, if they weren't killed on impact, they would be dead of exposure in a matter of minutes."

Mac nodded, "I know that, sir, but something tells me that they aren't dead. If they were, I'd know it."

AJ sighed. "You know that I wouldn't be able to stop you. You're putting your career on the line, Major, but I'll approve your request. Just make sure that Webb doesn't do anything funny, or I'll break more than his nose."

MEG'S HOME

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA

The phone rang. "Meg, it's Mac."

Meg sighed in frustration, if it wasn't anyone else, she wouldn't have picked up the phone. Her husband was dead only a month, and already her 'friends' were trying to get her to go out with other men again. She fumed. 'The insensitive...'

"Meg...are you there?"

"Yes..." Meg sighed restraining the urge to hang up. "What is it? Mac?"

"I don't believe they died, either."

"You don't?"

"You convinced me..." Mac said. "I don't believe Harm is dead either."

"How do you figure."

"It's way too simplified." Mac replied. "I don't think they gave us all the answers behind why they went down."

CIA HEADQUARTERS

LANGLEY, VA

1800 ZULU

"What?" Clayton Webb said. "The DNA on Animal's blood-test two months ago and the corpse that you took the samples on don't match?"

"Then what the hell happened?" Mac shouted. "You were the one that told us Harm and Animal were dead!"


	2. Chapter 2

"In Defence of Their Country"

Author:

Rating: PG-13

Classification: Harm/Mac R, Animal/Meg R

Spoilers: None

Summary: Harm and Animal have gone down in the North Atlantic while ferrying an F-14 Tomcat to a carrier. It seemed to be a routine hop, yet little is known about the circumstances in which

the Tomcat went down. (the sequel to "Tears of Sorrow")

Disclaimers: The characters Harm Rabb, Jr., Sarah Mackenzie, AJ Chegwidden, et al. belong in

concept if not name) to CBS/Bellisarius. No profit is being made from this story, nor is

any infringement intended.

CIA LABORATORY

LANGLEY, VA

"You told me that Harm and Animal were dead..." Mac snarled, her voice ominous, indicating dire threats if Clay did not come clean with the information. Clay knew that Mac would not hesitate to render serious bodily injury to him if he did not co-operate.

"I know...but they were under a deep cover mission. There is a new Soviet Sukhoi aircraft capable of over Mach 5 speed and it has stealth capabilities beyond our imagination." Clay replied. "The Su-43 Flashfire is an aircraft currently miles ahead of any technology that Skunkworks is working on. The Russians have perfected the technology of making an entire aircraft disappear off the radar scope."

Clay continued as Mac continued to glare at him. "We had to find a way of getting the two best pilots in our armed forces to get the information on those aircraft."

"Information? You mean steal the aircraft." Mac hissed.

"In a matter of speaking." Clay replied. "The aircraft are angular, much like our F-22A, and have a low-radar emission airframe which absorbs radar waves and keeps them in the air-frame without having it bounce off."

"Oh?" Mac said disbelievingly.

"That's all that I can tell you. I'll have to get you to a aeronautical engineer who has been monitoring what information that we have received from the connections that we have over in Moscow."

"All, I want to know is how Harm and Animal, provided that they haven't been picked up by Sokol, are going to get out of there." Mac growled with threat implied.

JAG HEADQUARTERS

FALLS CHURCH, VA

1614 ZULU

SECNAV was standing in front of the Admiral's desk. "Admiral Chegwidden." He said as he looked at AJ. "I don't like what you're implying. I have enough things to worry about without finding out that the CIA is a refuge for disgruntled military officers who don't like what's going on."

AJ looked over at the SECNAV with a stony glare that spoke volumes of what he thought about the SECNAV's priorities and that was not much. "Mr. Secretary..." he said,"If you have to know, those two men have put it on the line more times for this country than any pencil-pushing bureaucrat ever has. It would be in the best interests for the United States to find out why the country has decided to disclaim any interest in the two missing men ever being found."

"Now, AJ..."

"If not, Mr. Secretary. I will find out and it behooves you to not be around when I do." The admiral gave an intense stare, not budging his ground. "I joined the service to serve my country, not to have the country betray what I fight for."

CIA LABORATORY

LANGLEY, VA

"Mac, trust me, I didn't know what the CIA was planning." Clay stressed looking at Mac with a hopeless look. "But they turned around and are denying the whole thing ever happened. And until Harm and Animal resurface with the aircraft, there is no way to find them. They're in deep cover and we cannot compromise their safety."

"Doesn't look like they're too safe over there right now." Mac snapped. "Harm and Animal don't know Russian, they can't speak the language, and furthermore, Animal doesn't look the slightest bit Mongolian. How in the hell does the Company expect them to carry out the mission. Everytime they open their mouths, they run the risk of compromising the mission."

"Animal will find a way of making this go." Clay said, his look not so hopeful.

"You'd better hope to hell so." Mac replied."Otherwise, Meg will skin your hide and use it for a doormat. Not to mention that I'm just about ready to use the rest of your miserable hide for buzzard bait."

ROSSIYA HOTEL

RED SQUARE

MOSCOW

REPUBLIC OF RUSSIA

A fur-wrapped figure gestured to his friend to head for the hotel. If one looked very closely, one could find that the shorter of the two figures was Asian. As they walked closer to the hotel they could see a figure standing by the hotel's entrance.

"Looks KGB". the taller figure whispered in the shorter figure's ear.

"Kinda-Good-Boy?" the shorter figure wise-cracked. "Naw. I think that's Yuri, our contact. Harm."

As they got closer, the figure standing by the door came out to meet them. "Comrades...it is too dangerous to be wandering around outside." It was Yuri and he gathered them into the hotel. "Let us go up to your room, and we shall talk there."

As they took the stairs two at a time, Yuri said,"Everytime you go out, you run the risk of being discovered by the Marxists." He looked at them reproachfully.

"We need fresh air." Animal complained,"The air is suffocating in this joint. You guys ever hear of air circulation systems?"

Harm checked the door and looked suspiciously back to the other two.

"What is wrong?" Yuri asked looking nervously down the hall way.

"The door is unlocked." Animal said, his warning senses going off.

Pulling out his Makarov...Harm nodded to Animal who somehow had managed to retain his Beretta during the ejection. Animal cocked his Beretta, jacking a round into the chamber. Animal nodded to Harm, indicating that he should stay by the side of the door.

Animal aimed the M92F Beretta at the door, and lashed out with his foot. Sitting on the bed was a man wearing a suit, unstartled at the rather abrupt entry. Another man, with a mustache,stood by the fireplace.

"Welcome, Commander."

Harm, who by this time had come in too, was looking in amazement.

"YOU...I thought you two were dead."

"So have many people, Lieutenant Commander Rabb...Commander Nakamura. So...have many people..."

Animal asked a rhetorical question. "Well, if you're dead, then, how come you're still sucking oxygen, that other valuable life-forms can use?"

"Parlovsky!? But Admiral Chegwidden..." Harm began.

"He thought he had killed me. Lieutenant Commander Rabb, the KGB Colonel replied. "But there is no time for explanations. The time is very short and I need you to listen. I cannot explain my survival in the short time that we have together."

"What in hell is he talking about?" Animal growled.

"You will understand, Commander." Colonel Parlovsky reiterated. "The reason for our bringing you to Russia is very simple. You must steal the Su-43."

Harm and Animal's looks were incredulous. Animal articulated them into words. "Oh...well...DUH...How we supposed to do dat, Boss?" He asked, an edgy tone of stupidity in his voice.

Colonel Parlovsky looked over at Major Sokol who was standing by the fireplace. "He is being sarcastic." Sokol said in Russian.

"Oh, humor, the lovely American trait. I have never learned it. But enough chatter. You must go via train to Tskhakaya, Georgia. Once there, you must go to Mikha Tskhakaya Air Base. We will supply you with identities identifying you as First Class fighter test pilots." Colonel Parlovsky replied. "When you are on the base, proceed to hangar 13. There you will find two Su-43s being fueled and ready for takeoff. Your IDs will be good enough to get you into the cockpit. From there, you will proceed to take-off and hopefully, unless they send the third and fourth prototype after you, you will escape with two of the aircraft." Parlovsky gestured to Sokol who produced the military IDs as well as two KGB passports along with the accompanying badges. "The KGB identification should enable you to travel with impunity." Colonel Parlovsky stated. "The KGB may not be as powerful as it once was, but it is still powerful enough to invoke

fear and unquestioning response to orders given in our name. That should protect you."

Animal was still suspicious."Something just doesn't click, Colonel. Why are you helping us? What do you get out of it."

"That doesn't matter, Commander Nakamura." Parlovsky stated dismissively.

Sokol spoke for the first time to Harm and Animal. "There are many in this country who still believe that life was better under Stalin, despite his butchery. Vladimir Zhirinovsky is one of them. He is another Stalin in the making. He's gone from making pompous statements to affirmative action. What's even more dangerous is that the popular votes are in his favor. We need you two to steal the Su-43 to bring parity back to our mutual technologies or if Zhirinovsky gets into power, we will have a world nuclear holocaust the likes of which there will be absolutely zero chance of human survival."

CIA LABORATORY

LANGLEY, VA

Mac glared at Clayton Webb. "I still can't believe you sent two inexperienced field operatives in. Surely the Agency has experienced operatives that are pilots."

Clay shook his head reluctantly,"No, Mac, we don't. We have pilots but none of them are high-performance jet aircraft qualified. That's how come we needed Harm and Animal. We knew that the Russians had four aircraft. If we stole two of them, that would enable us to see how they work. Dissect one and keep the other as a flying test-bed."

Mac looked with disgust at Clay. It had been too many times that Clay had used them for his CIA hi-jinks. Especially sending two people that she was close to on a dangerous mission, did not sit well with her.

"Where are they landing." snapped Mac, her patience at an end with Clay.

"RAF Lakenheath."

"Then we're going there." Mac stated, her eyes sending a challenge to Clay." We can set up a base of operations. I'll notify Meg and tell her to prepare for a UK vacation. I'll tell her to bring Matt."

Clay was about to object when Mac turned and hissed at him. "Don't even try to talk me out of it. I've seen more of your projects go south than a migration."

"But Mac, we don't know if Animal and Harm are going to get full co-operation of our contacts in Russia. They may not..." Clay stopped when he saw the look on Mac's face.

"JUST WHO ARE YOUR CONTACTS!" she slammed Webb up against the wall.

"I can't divulge names." Clayton Webb gasped, winded, still stubborn even though Mac's look indicated that she would rather kill him, than listen to his excuses.

"God help you..." Mac threatened, her voice ominous."If anything happens to Harm or Animal, either I or Meg or both of us...will have the dubious pleasure of KILLING you."

ROSSIYA HOTEL

RED SQUARE

MOSCOW

REPUBLIC OF RUSSIA

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

"This is the file on the Su-43. All the systems covered piece by piece. Since you are travelling under KGB passports, the GRU will not harass you for studying those. If they do, say that you are studying them for possible intelligence leaks. There is a checklist at the very back, that you can detach."

Animal looked over at Sokol alias Mark Falcon. So this was the agent that had given Harm such a rough time. The Texas accent was still apparent in Sokol's voice, even though he had been back in his Motherland for about six years. It was definitely true about the rumors of an efficient spy training school in Russia.

Harm was studying his copy of the file and had an intense look of concentration on his face. The two KGB agents were packing up their things and getting ready to depart.

Colonel Parlovsky looked over at Animal, "Commander Nakamura, before I forget, here are your two train tickets, Good luck, gentlemen. Dasvedanya."

A WEEK LATER

TSKHAKAYA, GEORGIA

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

The afternoon sun was low on the horizon as the two pilots made their way across town from the train station. It was a long walk and cold too. Their boots made crunching noises on the snow covered path.

"Shit." Animal swore. "I owe Webb a knuckle sandwich. I knew this mission was nuts."

"Guess he needed a couple of heroes." Harm snorted derisively. The cold was making them both punchy.

"Any ideas on where to get some sleep?" Animal asked as he looked around. "It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

"Let's check the place up ahead." It turned out to be a small inn. After negotiating a price of 6 rubles, 8 kopecks per person, they bedded down for the night.

The next morning was an early rise as the pilots headed for Tskhakaya Air Base. Their First Class test pilot passports helped them on to the base just as Parlovsky had established.

As they were guided to Hangar 13, Harm turned to Animal and muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"So do I." Animal replied, "But we're like pigs going to the slaughter, we're committed."

"Somehow, I don't find much comfort in that analogy." Harm quipped acerbically.

Finally facing a steel hangar door, the two gaped up in amazement. There was an ominous creak as the doors began to slide open.

Animal looked at a sleek black aircraft, its twin sitting in the same hangar beside it. The aircraft were incredible. A delta wing melded into the fuselage. There was no corner to be seen at all on these aircraft. There were canards near the radome to add stabilization to the aircraft. The entire structure of the aircraft screamed 'STEALTH!'.

Harm muttered "My God..."

RAF LAKENHEATH

UNITED KINGDOM

"Any word?" Clay asked anxiously to MI-6 Nigel Rowland.

"Not a single peep." The ruddy Londoner stated gravely. "It's a matter of waiting to see what happens."

Mac and Meg looked at an empty radar screen circling its circumference aimlessly. They could only wait and hope and pray.

TSKHAKAYA AIR BASE

GEORGIA

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

Animal thought, "It looks too damn good to be true." Harm nodded quietly in assent. Just then they heard two clicks.

Animal muttered. "Hate ta break it to ya, Harm, but I think it's a trap."

"Turn around slowly, gentlemen, Hands above your head. Keep your hands where I can see them. No funny tricks now." Sokol's Texas accent was instantly recognizable.

TSKHAKAYA AIR BASE

GEORGIA

COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

"Yep, It's a trap." Animal quipped disgustedly, as they turned around to see Sokol and two other KGB agents holding Makarovs trained on them.

Animal snarled… "This was a setup right from the start, wasn't it…Sokol!"

Sokol grinned. "Commander, do you really think we would really let you steal our greatest invention? How stupid do you think we are?" Sokol and the agents closed in on them.

Animal eyeballed Sokol, "Do you really want an answer to that question?"

Sokol looked at him with an ugly smile, "Very funny, Commander…you could find a sideline as a stand-up comedian. Too bad that you won't be putting those skills to use…seeing as you two will be rotting in a Siberian Gulag."

"I don't think so." Harm growled. He knew that this would probably be their only chance to escape.

Animal leapt into action first. Spinning to his left, he grabbed the arm of the first gunman, smashing the gunman's wrist into his knee and breaking the wrist, causing the KGB agent to scream in pain and drop the gun. While the second KGB agent tried to aim at Animal, Harm punched the 2nd KGB agent in the face and kicked Sokol in the groin. Sokol bent over in pain as the second KGB agent staggered back, left hand coming up to meet his shattered nose, and ended up meeting Animal's well-executed round-house kick in the side of the head.

Animal then finished off the fight with four lightning fast kicks to the side of the first KGB agent's head. Harm picked Sokol up by the shirt front and slammed a fist into the KGB agent's face shattering his nose and was about to do more, when Animal motioned him to the flight-gear locker. Harm dropped Sokol as Animal grabbed Sokol by the hair and slammed an elbow strike into Sokol's jaw breaking it and knocking Sokol unconscious.

By the end of the fight, all three KGB agents were unconscious. Running to the nearest locker, Harm managed to find two flight-suits, helmets and g-suits relatively similar in size to the both of them. Animal found two of the agents stirring, as soon as he was finished dressing.

"G'night Charlie…" Animal quipped as he clubbed both men with a single swipe of his heavy flight-helmet, back into unconsciousness. Luckily, Harm and Animal were fast enough to keep Sokol from calling for back-up.

RAF LAKENHEATH

UNITED KINDOM

Mac and Meg paced up and down. They hadn't had much sleep the previous night.

Meg commented to Mac. "I'm glad that you believed me. I thought that there was something more to this than what they were telling us."

"It all seemed too quick and too clean of a wrap-up. It was…" Mac replied looking at Meg. "as if the State Department wanted to shut this operation down and didn't want anyone to know what happened." She shot Clay a malevolent look. Clay winced.

"I know…" Meg replied, her hand on Matt's shoulder, looking over at Mac, "I know. You love Harm. That's why you didn't stop believing that he wasn't dead." Meg stated resolutely. "It's the same reason why I didn't believe for a minute that my husband was dead. If he was, I'd know…"

Mac couldn't protest and nodded mutely. Meg was right.

TSKHAKAYA AIR BASE

REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA

"Harm…GET UP THAT LADDER…GET GOING!" Animal shouted as he sprinted for the other Su-43.

As Animal vaulted up the ladder, he saw Harm's engines turning over, as an increasingly louder whine filled the hangar. Animal dove into the cockpit and started flipping switches. A matching whine closer to his proximity told him that his aircraft was alive and ready for action. "C'mon baby…show me what you can do…" Animal muttered as he kept going over the checklist that he had managed to retain. He had also placed a file of information into his flight-suit. He

looked up to see Harm already taxiing.

A bullet whined by his head and Animal hit the canopy-close switch. Sokol was back up and moving when Animal hit the brake release after thrusting the throttles past eighty-percent. Bullets pinged off the aircraft and off the bullet-proof canopy glass. Titanium composite alloy. Animal remembered. Harm was in the air. Animal lined up on the runway. Thrusting the throttles past their detents to full military-power, the Su-43 leapt forward, driving Animal

back into his ejection seat. Pulling back on the stick, the Sukhoi climbed. Through his blurred eyes, he could see the Mach needle blur past 1, then 2, then 3. Joining up with Harm, he radioed. "Rogue 2, this is Rogue 1…Copy?"

"Roger Rogue 1, ten by ten." The radios appeared to be working perfectly.

TSKHAKAYA AIR BASE

REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA

Alexander Sokol (Mark Falcon) was furious. "YOU FOOLS!" he thundered at the two groggy agents. "The Americans have stolen our new technology. Quickly rouse the test pilots of the other two prototypes. Get them dressed. Prepare the other two prototypes and get them ready to fly. The Americans must not reach safety."

RAF LAKENHEATH

UNITED KINGDOM

"I have two signals coming from 650 miles inside the Georgian airspace. Two of their prototypes have taken off. It could be our boys." Came the radarman's excited voice.

"Are you sure?" Mac asked as she hovered over the radarman's station watching.

"We don't know for sure, ma'am, but it sure looks like it." The radar-man replied. Meg held Matt close by her.

ROGUE 1

450 MILES INSIDE RUSSIAN AIRSPACE

"Come left to heading zero-nine five. We're going to refuel at NAS Sigonella. At least that's friendly territory." Animal radioed.

"Roger that…" Harm's reply was brief and to the point, and then his voice raised a notch higher. "I'm getting something tracking us. I don't know what it is."

"Damn." Animal said as he looked into the mirror. Just to the left of them, the other two Su-43's were trailing them.

He heard a voice in the headphones of his flight-helmet. "Commander Nakamura, Lieutenant Commander Rabb. Congratulations on your stealing our nation's secret. It is a nice aircraft, don't you think? Does it fly well?" Sokol's Texas drawl was grating on Animal's ears.

Animal looked over at Harm who was flying wing. He nodded his head. They would at least try to buy some time before these other Su-43s tried to force them down.

"Well you could have worked a little bit more in the comfort department. The interior décor sucks…" Animal snapped back at Sokol. "The ejection seat has something in it that's really digging into my back." 150 miles to go. Just a bit further…

RAF LAKENHEATH

UNITED KINGDOM

"Two more aircraft have joined the first pair. And they're flying in formation towards the border." The radar-man said. "Do you think it could be an invasion of some sort? It doesn't look like our boys."

"I don't know…but call the Eisenhower and have them scramble six F-14s just in case. If it is our boys, then we'll at least have some cover for them." The Naval Attache replied.

"Yes, sir." Was the response.

ROGUE 1 & 2

100 MILES INSIDE GEORGIAN AIRSPACE

"Don't be foolish…Rabb…you're going to cause an international incident." Sokol said.

Harm remained silent, while Animal taunted Sokol, "I think your ass is on the line." He snapped. "We stole your precious secret and the only way that you can save your behind is by covering it up." Just 50 miles left to go.

Sokol abruptly cut off. "Harm, I think he's ordering those other two to attack. You run for Sigonella. I'll hold them off." Animal barked "Move it!"

Animal broke hard left. The massive amount of G's and the maneuverability of the Su-43 took him by surprise. It seemed like a millisecond later that he was behind both of the pursuing Su-43s. Letting loose 30mm cannon-fire he saw hits pepper the lead Su-43. The Su-43 did a hard 9G turn that would have been impossible to follow except in either an F-16 or another Su-43. "Damnit…" Animal thought to himself. "How the hell do I fire missiles again." All the controls were in Russian. All of a sudden blinking light came on. "Shit." He snarled as he rolled right and dropped flares. 'If I can just guide this fight towards the border.' Animal thought to himself. Harm was a dot being chased by the second Su-43, but the second Su-43 broke off the chase as Harm managed to get across the border.

"It's too bad your partner cut and run, Commander Nakamura." Sokol's voice taunted. "At least now, he will suffer the guilt of leaving his friend here to die."

"Not a chance." Animal taunted. "I'll get back to you in a bit. I'm a little tied up right now. Anyways…how's Parlovsky?" Animal rolled his Su-43 into a dropping turn to get energy to re-engage. All of a sudden, a light clicked on in his mind. "Damn…that's right." Flicking the HOTAS control to the very top selection, he saw the HUD turn from a roving cone to a round circle, searching for a target. A growl in his headset told him that the missile was searching for an acquisition of target.

Animal grinned to himself, as Sokol was silent. Animal threw his Su-43 into a series of evasive maneuvers. 'Here's where I turn the tables.' Slamming the Su-43 into a reversing turn, he locked up the lead Su-43 and fired an AA-11 Archer. "Hasta la vista…asshole…" he muttered as the missile dropped away, ignited and shot forward. The Su-43 being targeted rolled inverted and dropped flares, but the Archer turned into the Su-43 and exploded, taking chunks from the rear of the fuselage and turning the stricken Su-43 into a blowtorch which rolled into a terminal dive. The second Su-43 renewed his attack on Animal's aircraft. Hits on Animal's Su-43 just pinged off the titanium armor. Animal locked up the other Su-43 and fired. The second Archer missile slammed into the Russian's Su-43 about 5 seconds later. An exploding ball of flame was all she wrote. Animal rapidly scanned the horizon, his fuel indicator 'Dang, just barely enough to get me to Sigonella.' Animal thought, 'If I hit burner to get over the border.' And eased his throttle forward to afterburner. He wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of Russia.

The Sigonella base came into view as Animal swept over the base. Two F-14s from VF-103 were scrambling on a red alert as they saw the Sukhoi turning in on final. The Jolly Rogers were emblazoned on the VF-103 F-14s' vertical stabilizers. Sigonella felt like home or as close to home as they could get. Once refueled, they would depart for RAF Lakenheath.

Animal lined up the runway in his sights and whistled down to a clean touch-down.

Animal's engine flamed out as he taxied to his parking spot on the tarmac. Harm was waiting there.

"You made it." Harm grinned.

"I have a very high survival quotient." Animal grinned back, as he removed his helmet. "I like to protect my ass. It's very special to me."

2 HOURS LATER

Animal and Harm refueled and took off for RAF LAKENHEATH, the flight being un-eventful this time around. Just two RAF SEPECAT Jaguars that intercepted them over the English Channel.

"God. It's good to be back in the land of the living." Animal said.

"Yeah…" Harm replied jokingly, "I hated being dead too."

RAF LAKENHEATH

UNITED KINGDOM

Meg sighed, "He's home…"

That got several weird looks from the rest of the people in the room. "How?" Mac asked.

Meg shook her head as she replied, smiling at all of them, "I just know…I don't know how. I just know."

Mac grinned all of a sudden, "They are home…" as she got the same feeling in her mind. Just then a whistling roar filled the air outside. Looking out, they saw two black aircraft with red stars screaming into the break. Seeing one of them do a barrel roll before turning into the break, caused Meg to grin as she looked at Mac.

"Didn't I tell you?" Mac nodded in reply.

The Su-43s touched down at RAF Lakenheath and rolled to a stop by their respective parking spots.

The canopies popped up as the two pilots shed their flight helmets. Animal and Harm stood up as they gave each other a thumbs up from the confines of their aircraft.

They had shut down their engines and Meg and Mac started walking towards the aircraft that Harm and Animal were getting out of.

Animal and Harm had reached the bottom of their ladders and were looking towards the two women walking towards him. Little Matt passed his mother in a blur throwing himself at his father who he had thought was dead. Animal just hugged him as Meg reached him, having abandoned walking and just ran towards her husband. Covering his face in kisses, Meg murmured, "I knew you weren't dead…"

Animal looked at the wife that he loved so much. "God, it's so good to be back home. Three months is too long a time to be away from you."

Meg and Animal embraced each other, hungrily kissing each other, each trying to drive away the loneliness that the other had felt over the long months apart. "You're not going to get much sleep tonight." Animal muttered in between kisses.

"I'd like that." Meg replied. "You don't know how much I missed you." She said as she gave her husband another passionate kiss.

"Harm…" Mac said as she embraced him. "Don't you ever do this to me again." Decorum be damned, she was going to greet her man the way he deserved.

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled his head down to her own to meet his lips with her own. Harm blinked in surprise as the sensation of Sarah Mackenzie kissing him passionately sunk into his exhausted mind.

"I love you, Harmon Rabb Jr." Mac said. "Until I realized how much it would hurt to lose you, I kept denying this feeling. But I can't hold it in any longer." She said, breathless between kisses.

"I…I…Sarah?" Harm stammered, trying to catch his own breath, trying to believe that the woman he loved with all his heart had just proclaimed her love for him.

Mac looked over at Animal and Meg and Matt, a family who was back together again. Animal had his arms around both Meg and his son, and the light in his eyes and the happiness on his face was something to behold. Mac looked at Meg seeing Meg's love for Animal reflected in her eyes. And in that moment, Mac wanted that happiness for herself as well, and she knew who it was that she wanted to start a family with. Harm noticed this, seeing for the first time

with new eyes. Opened ones.

"Will you marry me?" Harm asked Mac, who turned around and looked at him, her mouth open in wonder.

"Harm…did you just…say?" she stammered.

"Sarah…" Harm took her hands, got down on his hands and knees and asked again. "Will you marry me?"

Animal and his wife looked over at Harm and Mac. His face still buried in his father's arms, Matt just hugged his father.

Mac's eyes filled, "Yes…Yes…" she pulled Harm up and kissed him passionately.

Harm grinned at Animal and Meg. "YES!" he said once Mac had stopped kissing him and he could catch a breath.

"GROUP HUG!" Meg said as they all crushed each other in an overwhelming hug. "Congratulations, Sarah." Meg said. "Harm."

Mac's face was bright with joy and she looked up with love at Harm.

"Y'know…I'm sort of getting cold out here." Quipped Animal as he looked over at his friends and family, "Shall we go and celebrate inside? This Russian flight-suit may be nice, but it sucks for cold-weather protection. If we don't get inside soon, I'm going to become a frozen icicle." He complained as Mac, Harm and Meg laughed.

"Yeah, it is cold…" Harm replied. "C'mon, let's go inside." He agreed as he shivered.

"Our heroes." Meg quipped indulgently as she linked an arm around Animal's waist. Animal wrapped his arm around her. Harm, Mac, Animal, Meg and Matt linked arm in arm, walking into the operations center at RAF Lakenheath.

******THE END******


End file.
